Floor mat



May 3, 1960 Filed Oct. 19, 1956 G. T. BOYD ETAL 2,934,778

FLOOR MAT 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 3, 1960 G. T. BOYD ET AL FLOOR MAT 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 19, 1956 Unite FLOOR MAT Application October19, 1956, Serial No. 617,162

Claims. (Cl. 15-239) This invention relates to a floor mat. `It `has todo more particularly with mats which are especially suitable for use asdoor mats.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention the mainbody of the mat comprises a plurality of strips, of any desired length,formed of any suitable material such as rubber or soft plastic. Thestrips are of such form and width that they may readily be formed Ibyextrusion and their edges are cut away to form projections which meshwith projections of an adjacent strip. The meshing projections have abore extending therethrough whereby the adjacent strips may be hingedlyconnected together by a rod extending therethrough. Y

A mat constructed in this manner is inexpensive to manufacture since thestrips may be extruded and, at the same time, a mat of large sizre isreadily assembled from a relatively small number of component parts. Theindividual strips as extruded may be of any desired crosssectionalconfiguration without the necessity of cutting material away to form thedesired cross-sectional configuration. The strips may thus be providedwith large, widely spaced lugs for effective foot-wiping and with otherspecial cross-,sectional configurations described be low. The basicconstruction also lends itself to the incorporation of decorativepatterns therein. Furthermore, it lends itself to either an open orporous form, or to substantially tight form of mat.

It is an object of the invention to provide an `improved oor mat whichis readily fabricated from a relatively small number of componentstrips, each of said parts being of such width that it is readilyproduced by extrusion. j

It is another object of the invention to provide `an im proved floor matwhich is economical to manufacture and which has widely spacedupstanding lugs which facilitate the wiping of heavy mud from shoes andboots thus rendering the mat especially suitable as a door mat.

It is another object of the invention to provide an irnproved oor matconstruction which lends itself readily to the incorporation therein ofdecorative inserts. Y

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved floor matconstruction which lends itself readily to either an open or porousform, or to a substantially tight form.

In the drawings, in which like parts are designated 4by like referencenumerals:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a floor mat illustrating oneembodimentA of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of a portion of the floormat of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of thesame oormat with one edge member removed;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 4 4 ofFig. l;

Fig. 5V is a perspective view of a door mat illustrating anotherembodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectiona1 view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

tates Patent The oor mat of Fig. 1 consists primarily of a plurality ofstrips 11 which are preferably of rubber or soft plastic and which areof such form and width that they may readily be extruded. One suggestedcross-sectional configuration of the strips 11 may be seen best in Figs.3 and 4. 4It will there be seen that each strip 11 consists of webportions 12 and longitudinally extending enlarged portions 13 havingribs or lugs 14 protruding from the top and bottom thereof. The strips11 are symmetrical about their central planes such that the top andbottom are reversible, and, as will subsequently be seen, the reshapedprojections or tongues 31. The longitudinal di- Y mension of therecesses preferably is the same as that of the resulting tongues orprojections whereby the projections on each side of each strip may meshsnugly with the projections of an adjacent strip. l

It will be seen in the drawings that the edges of each strip 11constitute two enlarged portions 13. At least those two enlargedportions 13 which extend along the edges of each strip define a bore 15for receiving a rod 16, as best illustrated in Fig. 3. The `recesses 30along the edges of the strips 11 are of such depthv that the resultingprojections of adjacent strips may extend therein to a suicientextentthjat the bores 15 therethrough may be brought into alignment.When a rod 16 is then'inserted in the resulting bore 15, the twoadjacent strips 11 are hingedly connected together. As best` seen inFig. 3, the interrupted lugs 14 extending along the edges of each strip11 cooperate with the interrupted lugs of the next adjacent strip to,form one continuous lug.

rlfhe ends of the rods 16 are preferably bent through an angle of at theends thereof and beyond the ends of the strips 11, and are preferablyengaged in suitable openings in side rails 17. Such side rails 17 aredesirable as they protect the ends of the strips 1,1, anchor the ends ofthe rods 16, and give the mat a finished appearance. The two ends of thefloor mat are preferably inished with end strips 1S and 19. Each oftheseend strips is cut away along one edge thereof to forrn projectionssimilar to those on the strips 11, whereby they may mesh with thecorresponding end Vstrips Yand be hingedly connected thereto byadditional rods 16. v

In Fig. l, the end strip 18 is shown formed with a squared'outer edge.This form of end strip is desirable for that edge of the iioor mat whichmay butt against a wall or a step. The other end strip 19`has a beveledouter edge, this form of end strip being Adesirable for the edge of themat which may Ylie in the open. In an application wherein the mat is tobe laid in a floor recess provided for that purpose, squared end strips1,8 should be employed at both ends. Where the mat is to lie in theopen, tapered end strips 19 are preferred at both ends. Preferably theend strips are provided with a longitudinal opening therethroughforreceiving a reenforcing metal insert 20.

In certain applications, it may be desired that the oor mat besubstantially solid or continuous, such that it may hold any dirt ordebris that may fall thereon. In such case, each of the strips may beleft intact except for the recessing of the edges to form the meshingprojections. In such case, also, the recesses are preferably of suchdimensions that the meshing projections of the adjacent stripsubstantially ll the recesses, anda substantially continuous surface iSPrelltdf In other applications it may be desired that dirt or debriswhich falls on the iioor mat be permitted to fall through the mat, or tobe swept or washed through. In such case, suitable openings through theweb portions 12 may be provided asV shown in Fig'. l. Preferably, suchopenings are not formed in the web portions immediately adjacent theedge lugs of the strips, as such openings would weaken the edges of thestrips. However, the recesses intermediate the projections at the edgesof the strips may be so dimensioned as to leave substantial openingsthrough which dirt may fall or be washed or swept.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. and 6 incorporatessubstantially the same `basic construction as that shown in Figs. 1 4,and, accordingly, like parts are designated by the same referencenumerals and the above description of the basic construction is notrepeated.

Fig. 6 illustrates one additional feature in the form of additionalenlarged portions such as ribs or beads arranged intermediate theenlarged portions 13 described above. The beads 25 are recommended toprevent the catching of the narrow heels of womens shoes betweenadjacent lugs 14. The beads 25 provide additional support for narrowheels intermediate the lugs 14, and at the same time, the beads 25 arenot so high that they interfere with the shoe scraping action providedby the widely spaced lugs 24, further explained below.

The invention as thus far described lends itself to the incorporation ofdecorative patterns within a floor mat by means of a constructionillustrated in Fig. 5. Basically, the oor mat of Fig. S incorporates theconstruction of Figs. 14 along with the intermediate beads 25 of Fig. 6,but is distinguished by the incorporation of inserts which provide adecorative pattern. Some of the strips 11 do not extend entirely acrossthe width of the mat, but are instead interrupted, and portions areremoved to receive inserts which are preferably of a diiferent colorthan the strips 11.

In the example of Fig. 5, portions of the strips 171 are removed andinserts are provided in such a pattern that the inserts form the letterN. Specifically, portions of the first and third strips 11 of Fig. 5 areremoved to permit the inclusion of inserts a, b, c and d which form thetop and bottom portions of the letter N. The strip 11 in the center ofthe mat has portions removed t0 permit inclusion of a single insert ewhich is of irregular configuration such that it may form the centralportion of the letter N. Additional inserts f are then required,preferably of the same color as the basic strips 11 to fill in thetriangular openings within the insert e.

Each of the inserts `a-j preferably has the same crosssectionalconfiguration as the basic strips 11 and in particular includes enlargedportions 13, and preferably lugs 14 and beads 25, where the latter areemployed in the basic strips 11. Each of the enlarged portions 13delines a bore for receiving a rod 16, the bores of the inserts beingaligned with those of the strips 11. Each of the inserts a-f is also ofsuliicient length that it includes enlargedportions 13 and bores 15 forreceiving at least two rods 16. This assures that the inserts will bemaintained in the same general plane as the rest of the mat rather thanbeing free to pivot about a single rod 16.

It will readily be seen that a floor mat constructed in accordance withthe present invention has several substantial advantages over any matpreviously produced. It has the advantage of widely spaced scrapingedges whereby heavy mud may be scraped from the shoes of the user. Thisis in marked contrast to mats of relatively iine pattern which arereadily lled with mud when the user attempts to scrape heavy mud fromhis shoes, and which by virtue of their fine pattern are worn smooth andhence substantially ineffective by relatively light use. j

A mat constructed in accordance with the present invention is made up ofstrips of practicable widths whereby they may readily be formed byextrusion to any dcsired cross-sectional configuration. This eliminatesthe necessity of cutting away any substantial portion of the matcomponents to produce a desired configuration, whereby there isyrelatively little waste. Furthermore, such a mat is readily assembledsince a small number of strips (which may be of any desired length) arerequired to produce a mat of large size. This is in marked contrast toconventional forms of coarse mats constructed of individual links.

The mat, while it may have widely spaced lugs for eective wiping ofshoes, may also employ intermediate ridges such as the beads 25 whichhelp in supporting the narrow heels of womens shoes while being oflesser height than the lugs whereby they do not interfere with thewiping effect ofthe widely spaced lugs.

The mat also lends itself to construction as a continuous orsubstantially dirt-proof mat or to a perforate mat which permits dirtand debris to fall through. Still further, the mat lends itself to thedesirable characteristic of being reversible whereby its effective lifeis substantially doubled. Finally, a mat constructed in accordance withthe present invention lends itself readily to Ythe inclusion'ofdecorative patterns incorporated therein.

The method of making a oor mat disclosed above, namely the extruding ofmat strips having a cross section characterized by enlarged portionssupporting upstanding lugs and by bores extending therethrough, thecutting away of portions of the edges to form lateral projections, themeshing of the edge projections of adjacent strips with bores adjacentthe edges aligned, and the inserting of rods therethrough, permits theproduction of a mat having any desired cross section, with relativelyfew assembly operations and little waste of material. At the same timeit permits the inclusion of decorative patterns.

It will be apparent that the invention may be varied in its physicalembodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it isdesired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the scope ofthe appended claims.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired tobe secured by Letters Patent is:

1; A iloor mat comprising a plurality of elongated parallel strips ofsolid, flexible material linked together along their longitudinal edges,each strip being of a length equal to a substantial portion of one fulldimensionof said mat and having a plurality of parallel longitudinallyextending lugs protruding from lat least one principal surface thereof,the longitudinal edges of said strips being cut away at spaced intervalsto form laterally extending arms for meshing with like arms of adjoiningstrips, such meshing arms of each two adjacent strips having alignedlugs protruding therefrom and parallel to said first-named lugs, withaligned, widened base portions and aligned bores therein and togetherforming a j continuous lug having a continuous widened base portion anda continuous bore extending along the length of said strips, and a rodextending through said bore whereby said two adjacent strips arehingedly connected together.

2. The invention as set forth in claim l, wherein said bores in saidarms are in alignment with said secondnamed lugs in a directionperpendicularly with a principal surface of said mat, whereby saidsecond-named lugs limit relative angular folding movement between twoadjacent strips.

3. A floor mat comprising a plurality of elongated parallel strips ofsolid, flexible material linked together along their longitudinal edges,said strips being reversible and interchangeable with each 4other andbeing of a length equal to a substantial portion of one full dimensionof said mat and each having a plurality of parallel longitudinallyextendinglugs protruding from the ktwo principal surfaces thereof, saidlugs being arranged in oppositely disposed pairs, the longitudinal edgesof said strips being cut away at spaced intervals to form laterallyextending arms for meshing with like arms of adjoining strips, suchmeshingarms of each two adjacent strips having aligned pairs ofoppositely disposed lugs protruding therefrom in oppositely disposedpairs and parallel to said iirst-named lugs, with aligned widened baseportions and aligned bores therein and together forming a continuous lughaving a continuous widened base portion and a continuous bore extendingthe length of said strips, and a rod extending through said bore wherebysaid two adjacent strips are hingedly connected together.

4. A floor mat comprising a plurality of elongated parallel strips ofsolid, llexible material linked together along their longitudinal edges,each strip being of a length equal to la substantial portion of vonefull dimension of said mat having la plurality of parallellongitudinally extending lugs protruding from at least one principalsurface thereof, the longitudinal edges of said strips being cut away atspaced intervals to form laterally extending arms for meshing with likearms of adjoining strips, such meshing arms of each two adjacent stripshaving aligned lugs protruding therefrom and parallel to said rstnamedlugs, with aligned bores therein and together forming a continuous lughaving a continuous bore extending along the length of said strips, saidstrips having additional lugs of lesser height than said first-mentionedlugs disposed between adjacent ones of said iii-stmentioned lugs, and arod extending through said bore whereby said two adjacent strips arehingedly connected together.

6 5. A ltloor mat comprising a plurality of elongated parallel strips ofsolid, exible material linked together along their longitudinal edges4and each extending for a substantial portion of one -full dimension ofsuch oor mat, each strip having a plurality of parallel longitudinallyextending lugs protruding from at least one principalV surface thereof,each lug being formed with a widened base portion, the longitudinaledges of said strips being cut away at spaced intervals to formlaterally extending arms for meshing with like `arms of adjoiningstrips, such meshing arms of each two adjacent strips having alignedlugs protruding therefrom and parallel to said Erst-named lugs, withaligned, widened, base portions and aligned bores therein and togetherforming a continuous lug having a continuous widened base portion and acontinuous bore extending along the length of said strips, and being of`a diameter at least substantially equal to the thickness of said stripsintermediate said lugs, said strips having additional lugs disposedbetween adjacent ones of said first-mentioned lugs, and a rod extendingthrough said bore whereby said two adjacent strips are hingedlyconnected together.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,225,107 Galkin Dec. 17, 1940 2,247,530 Thomas July l, 1941-1 FOREIGNPATENTS 518,359 Canada Nov. 8, 1955 751,105 France June 12, 1933

